Private Bet #6: Pen Pen's Pebble
by Shade
Summary: Sometimes love isn't as simple as we'd like it to be, just ask Tenchi Masaki...
1. No Need for Confusion

PenPen's Pebble  
by Shade  
  
Disclaimer: 'Tenchi Muyo!' is the property of Pioneer & AIC.   
PenPen belongs to Gainax and their holy church of Penguins.   
No profits made from this; it's just entertainment.  
  
~~~~~  
Part 1: No Need for Confusion   
(Or never alter reality after ingesting 12 bottles of someone else's alcoholic beverage)  
~~~~~  
  
"How'd he qualify for this?!"  
  
"Apparently, in his universe after Third Impact wiped out humanity,   
his race became the dominant species on Earth. He's their first legendary  
hero. We never said that non-humans couldn't participate in this, after all."  
  
"But... but... HE'S A PENGUIN!! AND HE'S DRINKING MY BEER!!"  
  
"Wark!"  
  
"No, you can't do that. What is it with you   
and romances involving older women anyway?"  
  
"WARK!!"  
  
"I was just asking!! Jeez, the nerve of some beings."  
  
"Wark!!"  
  
"Give me back my BEER!!"  
  
"WARK!!!"  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Tenchi Masaki. Crown Prince of the Planet Jurai.   
  
Warrior of Justice, Destroyer of Evil.   
  
Bearer of the Light Hawk Wings and the chosen of Tsunami.  
  
With 5 beautiful women in house, he hasn't even kissed one of them yet.  
  
Tenchi Masaki, the biggest weenie in the Multiverse.  
  
But that was going to change...  
  
~~~~~~~~  
-Oh Dear  
  
Today was the day. After all the weeks of preparation   
and planning her hard work would finally pay off.   
It hadn't been easy keeping this a secret  
from the others, she'd had more then one close call   
while getting everything ready.  
  
Her attempts to get Tenchi had always been foiled   
by her rivals before now. But this time she'd finally   
be able to win his heart, his soul, and that yummy body.  
  
Relaxing in the luxurious floating bath,   
she blushed as she dreamed of finally   
achieving her destiny.  
  
Her sultry smile lit up her face, "Just you wait, Tenchi.   
This night is going to be one that you'll never forget!"  
  
This was not going to go over well with the other girls when they found out about this.   
  
But it would be worth it.  
  
Mihoshi was finally going to get LUCKY!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Okay... this is something I haven't seen before."   
  
Rowan raised an eyebrow. This could be... interesting.  
  
"Anybody here think Tenchi will be able to escape?" Shadow asked rhetorically.  
  
They all thought about it for a few seconds.  
  
"Nope," the Guardian shook his head.  
  
"Not a chance." After having similar situations   
happen to him numerous times before, Rowan knew   
better then to hope Tenchi would escape the  
horrible fate that awaited him at the altar.  
  
"He's going to be dragged down the aisle faster  
then Ranma going through a bento." Shadow was   
ever blunt and to the point.  
  
"I wish I was in his shoes."  
  
Rowan, the Guardian, and Shadow all gave the   
Bard a whack on the back of his thick head.  
  
"No, you don't!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
-When it rains...  
  
Lady Tokimi smiled.  
  
Everything was going according to plan.   
Her chosen agent was in place. Tsunami   
and Washu would never know about what   
would happen until it was too late.  
  
"Sisters, the game is mine. As Tenchi Masaki soon will be."  
  
~~~~~~~  
-...It pours  
  
From within Herself, Tsunami frowned.  
  
"Shit." The universe shook as the unthinkable occurred.   
In a dimension far, far away several people watching   
the Holy Goddess of Jurai utter her first profanity in  
recorded history all facefaulted.  
  
This was not good.  
  
It looked like she would have to take a more personal hand in things.   
Nothing could be allowed to interfere with Tenchi's development.  
  
She would have to talk to Sasami. It looked like it was time to reveal   
that there was more to her then just a reflection.  
  
A GREAT deal more...  
  
~~~~~~~  
-Bliss  
  
Unaware of the plots centering around him,   
the boy in question simply enjoyed his breakfast.  
  
It was going to be a beautiful day...  
  
~~~~~~  
  
"Good morning, Tenchi!"  
  
"Morning Miho---shi?!" Tenchi's greeting stumbled   
and the last part came out as a high pitched squeak.   
His throat felt dry and constricted as he got a good   
look at what the attractive Detective First Class was   
wearing.   
  
A T-shirt, blue jeans and a black bra. He knew it was   
black because the shirt was pressed so tight against it   
that he could practically see through the white cotton   
from where he was sitting.  
  
A trickle of blood rolled from Tenchi's nose to fall   
unnoticed into his miso soup. Tenchi-ken started to power   
itself up; a fact that Tenchi was all too aware of as his   
pants rapidly became uncomfortably tight.  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
Innocent looking blue eyes suddenly filled his vision   
as Mihoshi bent down in front of him, her face now only   
a few inches away from Tenchi's. Swallowing nervously he   
looked down to avoid showing the hentai thoughts he knew   
were written all over his face.  
  
Oops. Big mistake. Now he had an unrestricted view of her...  
  
The trickle increased to a steady stream, Tenchi's breakfast   
was rapidly becoming something unfit for human consumption.  
  
His reaction did not go unnoticed. Ryoko and Ayeka were   
shooting looks on setting 'Terminate with EXTREME Prejudice' at   
Mihoshi. Rivals they might be, but in the face of a common threat   
they would take the evil they knew over the one they didn't.  
  
"Ah hahaha... I'm fine, Mihoshi!" Tenchi might be an idiot   
when it came to women, but he wasn't suicidal. Fortunately,   
she seemed to accept that and sat back down.  
  
The girls' glares relaxed... marginally.  
  
Tenchi relaxed slightly, and then tried to calm the rest of   
his uncooperative body down, now that the immediate disaster   
had been averted. It wasn't easy; he seemed to have the image   
of Mihoshi leaning toward him permanently etched into his mind.   
How could he think about such a sweet and innocent girl in that way?!  
  
{Am I more like my dad than I believed? Brrrr... What a scary thought!!}  
  
Of all the space girls, Mihoshi had always been the nicest,   
in Tenchi's opinion. She didn't a malicious bone in her whole body,   
and didn't know the first thing about being manipulative.   
Even Washu and Sasami had their darker sides. Part of his reluctance   
to accept the genius scientist's affections was due to her often casual   
mistreatment of Ryoko. Washu's cruelty to her own flesh and blood turned   
him off almost as much as her adult form intrigued him. The worst time   
had been after the visit by the Emperor of Jurai and his two wives.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
-See Episode 13.5 for More Details  
  
He'd stayed up late that night, expecting Ryoko to make   
her customary appearance over his bed, and their usual   
song and dance that would end with him sending Ryoko to   
her own bed to get some sleep.  
  
But when she never showed, he had started to worry.   
The thought that she might have finally gotten the   
message that Tenchi was not interested never crossed   
his mind; the day that happened, he'd be looking for   
the pod that had replaced her.  
  
The young man had quietly checked all of the house and   
then gone to look outside. Ryoko had been nowhere to be   
found. Finally he'd searched the one place he still hadn't   
checked yet, Washu's lab. With much trepidation, he'd   
slowly opened the door that led to the deranged genius scientist's  
lair.  
  
The scene he found inside had shocked him to the core.  
  
Ryoko, the strong and fearless pirate, the scourge of   
Kami only knew how many planets, was... crying?  
  
Imprisoned by a familiar looking restraining device,   
the cyan-haired girl had broken down and was now   
sobbing like a little girl while she called out   
for her mommy.  
  
Tenchi finally realized at that moment something   
that he'd never really thought about before.   
That in a sense, Ryoko was still a little girl.   
In all the years that she had been serving that   
bastard Kagato, or sleeping within her cave,   
she'd never had a chance to grow up. During all that time,   
she had either been a slave or trapped in her astral form.   
Some things started to make more sense with that realization.   
Ryoko's teasing of Ayeka, her constant need to be around him,   
the uninhibited way she seized life to live to the fullest:   
all the behavior of a little girl who had had her first  
taste of real freedom and was reveling in it.  
  
And now with all the barriers down, the real Ryoko   
was revealed at last. The lost little girl who was   
afraid of the dark.  
  
Tenchi had brought her down. The sight of pure relief on Ryoko's face,   
one that had nothing to do with her usual tricks and was just simply   
due to the presence of another living being, the fact that she was   
no longer alone, had brought a deep ache to his heart.  
  
Tenchi had held her close, stroking her hair and murmuring   
soothing comforts as she had cried and sobbed into his chest.   
It had been the first time he had ever initiated such an   
intimate contact with Ryoko. As her sobs had died down to   
soft hiccups he'd looked up...  
  
...Just in time to see Washu recording the whole thing.  
  
He'd have been willing to bet everything he owned that   
she had been the one responsible for this, and even worse,   
had been here and recording it the whole time, too.   
A soft sigh brought his attention down to Ryoko.   
The fierce and proud young girl had fallen asleep   
after finally being freed from her ordeal,   
a heartwarming smile on her now peaceful face.  
  
"Tenchi..." She'd snuggled closer, drawn by his body heat.  
  
If Ryoko had been awake she would have seen a smile   
that she'd have sold her soul to have directed at her.  
  
Tenchi had picked up the former space pirate and carried   
her out of the lab to one of the unoccupied guest bedrooms.   
But not before shooting a look back at Washu as he left.  
  
It hadn't been a glare of hate, or disgust, or anger.   
Washu might have wished for all of those because the look   
he had given her had been much worse.  
  
In Tenchi's eyes the crab-haired scientist had seen disappointment,   
hurt, and worst of all, pity. His stare seemed to bore into her soul,   
asking how could someone that could be so kind to a little child,   
be so cruel to her own daughter? Where was the grieving mother that   
he'd tried to comfort as she mourned for a child 20,000 years gone?   
What had happened to the intelligent girl who had faced down Dr. Clay   
and that he'd come to care for, her nurse's outfit notwithstanding?  
  
'Why did you do it, Washu?' his look had asked her.  
  
Numbly, Washu had dropped her recorder to the ground before   
erasing all of the tapes she had made of Ryoko's confinement.  
  
Then she collapsed on her floating chair cushion and wept.  
  
-To be continued 


	2. No Need for Flashbacks

PenPen's Pebble  
by Shade  
  
~~~~~~  
Part 2: No Need for Flashbacks  
(Or, The Plot Sickens)  
~~~~~~  
  
"Pass the soy sauce, please."  
  
The request snapped him back to the present.  
  
Sasami was beaming cheerfully. Ryo-Ohki   
was perched on her head, nibbling a carrot.  
  
Tenchi sheepishly scratched his head with one hand   
while he picked up the soy sauce bottle and handed   
it to the adorable aqua-haired princess. His mind   
had been wandering again, once more trying to figure   
out a way to untangle this convoluted mess that was his life.  
  
{Sasami, cute and cheerful, but with a mischievous streak that rivals Ryoko's...}  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
The first time they had met, Sasami had made him try   
to steal her sister's key, an ornamented headband.   
Which of course led to him running for his life,   
while two giant floating logs did their best to vaporize him.   
  
And all because Sasami had been bored.  
  
Then there had been shoujo manga incident.   
Okay, so maybe it was a little funny in hindsight,   
but back then it had been a real pain... literally.  
  
Ryoko did not know her own strength sometimes,   
that kick had hurt a lot. Then there had been   
the mess she had made in the kitchen when she  
had tried to cook, and then forgot her concoction   
on the stove. It had taken him hours of scrubbing   
to finish cleaning it in time for Sasami to make  
dinner.  
  
The less said of Ayeka and the rope strung across the stairs the better.   
Let's not even mention the waste of yarn for what had eventually become  
Ryo-Ohki's new bed.  
  
Then to find out that all of their strange behavior   
was their way of trying to win him, Earth style...  
  
He couldn't believe it.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Toying with their emotions like that just wasn't right.   
  
Sasami should have known better.  
  
A little voice of guilt reminded Tenchi that he wasn't totally blameless, either.  
  
[Are you any better, stringing them all along like you have?]  
  
He countered with the fact that while his indecision   
sprang from truly not knowing which one he really loved,   
Sasami's actions had been solely to amuse herself.   
Besides it wasn't as if he was actually considering Sasami   
as anything except a younger sister.  
  
[But what about Tsunami?] The same irritating little voice whispered.  
  
{Tsunami isn't interested in me. Not in that way.}   
There was note of doubt starting to creep into his thoughts.  
  
[Are you sure?]  
  
Tenchi started to say yes, then hesitated, remembering the brief   
time he'd first spent with the Goddess of Jurai after she had   
healed him of the injuries that Kagato's ship had inflicted on him.   
He had never told any of the others about it, not even Washu.   
Sasami was the only other person who knew about it, for she had been there.   
Tsunami's voice had been beautiful, full of compassion and as sweet   
as a summer orchid in full bloom. And her smile...  
  
Armies would willingly march into the Valley of Death   
without hesitation for such a radiance to be bestowed   
on them. But had it meant something more?  
  
She had held him when she activated the sleeping power within Tenchi,   
the power of the Light Hawk Wings. That one time Tsunami had been  
real, the feeling had been one beyond any he could ever hope to describe.   
For a single moment in time, they were joined as one. He had never  
forgotten it; even now the memory was as clear as if it had happened   
only moments before, not so many long months ago.  
  
Had the emotions he'd seen in her eyes really been just simple concern?   
Or could it have been...  
  
No, that was ridiculous... wasn't it?  
  
Damn, this pointless wondering was driving him crazy!   
He'd never be able to do anything about it anyway,   
he consoled himself. By the time Sasami and Tsunami   
were one, he'd be married. So why did he feel a brief   
sense of... disappointment?  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Tenchi started to pay more attention to breakfast,   
to forget the new and disturbing thoughts that were   
now floating around in his head. He reached for some   
pickles, then froze as movement from across the table caught his eye.  
  
A small whimper escaped his lips.  
  
Dear Gods, he'd never realized before that the simple act   
of eating could be such an erotic torture...  
  
Mesmerized, he watched as Mihoshi proceeded to savor   
and tease a choice bit of sashimi, her pink tongue   
darting out to caress the soft red flesh that had   
been dipped in soy sauce, her lips glimmering with   
the few drops that escaped.  
  
He swallowed hard. Sweat started to bead on his brow.  
  
{Oh, no... not the MISO SOUP!!}  
  
Tenchi found to his horror that his body would not obey his commands   
to stop watching Mihoshi eat. As she lapped up the warm white broth,   
his mind mutinied against his willpower and started to picture her   
lapping up something else...  
  
Higher brain functions went offline.   
  
As if drawn by a magnet, his eyes went down south   
as Mihoshi continued to polish off her breakfast.  
  
Oh, damn. Those movements the blonde detective was making   
as she ate were doing interesting things to that sleek   
physique of hers.  
  
He squirmed and fidgeted to try and ease the growing pressure   
rapidly rebuilding beneath the table without anyone noticing.   
If any of the girls saw the problem he was having right now...  
  
{Don't go there! Down boy!! Heel!!}  
  
If it had been anyone else, Tenchi would have sworn   
that this display was being done on purpose.   
  
But this was Mihoshi!  
  
Sweet, innocent...  
  
Sexy... passionate...  
  
{Think of something else! ANYTHING ELSE!!}  
  
An image of Nurse Washu appeared in Tenchi's head.  
  
It worked like a charm. His libido took a nosedive instantly.   
Nothing killed hot hormones faster then cold rubber gloves.   
This tactic had been all that had saved Tenchi recently   
when Ryoko had decided to try seducing him in bed again.   
If the space pirate ever realized how close he'd come  
to succumbing to her bountiful charms, he was so doomed...  
  
But that wasn't really fair to Washu, his conscience argued.  
  
[So she's a little eccentric...]  
  
{A LITTLE ECCENTRIC?}  
  
[...But she loves you anyway.]  
  
{...}  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
At first, he'd never thought about Washu-chan in that way.   
Objectively, Tenchi knew that she was much older then him,   
but that kawaii body and act she usually used made her seem   
more like a little girl to him then a woman.   
  
And what a woman she was!   
  
Ryoko had definitely inherited her figure from her mother's side.  
  
The scary thing was that if he ever allowed himself to forget that   
Washu was capable of anything in the name of science, and that she   
was older than his planet's *civilization*, he'd probably be doing   
the ecchi with her faster then you could say "Jack Daniel's".   
Something about that mature beauty she possessed in her adult form   
just made him so... so...  
  
{...Damn, I'm doing it again! This is all DAD'S FAULT!!}  
  
Of course, his houseguest's brains were every bit as formidable as   
her beauty. Without Washu's help, the Masakis would have been bankrupt  
long ago from the repair bills alone. And as a tutor she was second   
to none, although her fee for that service meant that the Prince of Jurai   
had to keep a sharp eye on his family jewels,   
lest the sharp redhead wound up owning them.  
  
Tenchi heaved a giant mental sigh. He was lying to himself again.  
  
These were only excuses. The real thing that had changed his perception   
of her to that of the woman she truly was, had been that second night  
with Taro in the house. It was a memory he would treasure to his dying day.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
-Flashback to Episode 8  
  
Seeing Washu with Taro cradled in her arms had been the closest   
thing to seeing his mother. His memories of Achika were few,   
and distorted by the time that had passed since she had left him.  
  
Those few moments they had spent together,   
alone save for a sleeping Taro, had been...  
  
Had been...  
  
It had come as quite a shock, actually.   
From the way the scientist behaved normally,   
he'd never have guessed in a million years   
that Washu-chan had her tender, vulnerable side.   
Feelings he'd never known he had surged forth;   
a strange tugging at his heart, with a nervous   
fluttering in the region of his stomach.   
  
Had he imagined the small blush he'd seen on her face that night,   
as he sat beside her on the couch?  
  
-End Flashback  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
If Taro hadn't woken up... what might have happened?  
  
{DON'T GO THERE!}  
  
[I didn't say anything.]  
  
~~~~~~~  
-Flashback to ep. 8 again  
  
"Lineage, social status... Why should such things matter so much?   
That's how grown-ups are. If that's so... I'd be happier being a child,   
never, ever growing up"  
  
The pain Tenchi had heard in that voice had been eerily familiar.   
It was all too similar to what he had felt that dark lonely day   
when his mother hadn't been there for him, and would never be   
there ever again. It was at that exact moment that Tenchi had   
been certain he loved Washu as much as all the other girls   
that had entered his life. Each one had brought a secret pain   
with her that his heart had done its best to fill, but her sorrow  
was one the greatest he had ever faced. Words were not enough,   
there had to be way to show her he understood, to show her that he...  
  
That he...  
  
Imagine his shock when he bent down to comfort the little Washu   
and got a very close view of "Big" Washu!  
  
Of course, that was nothing compared to his reaction when   
she declared she wanted to bear his CHILD!!  
  
She couldn't be serious! Right? Right?!  
  
Right after that bombshell, the Masaki weirdness meter blew a fuse and shut down.  
  
-End Flashback  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Still...  
  
Washu did look good on those rare occasions   
that she resumed her adult form. Too good   
for his comfort. It hadn't helped that the   
genius had been taking a page from Ryoko's   
book lately, and had been trying some rather...   
daring outfits to get the sample she wanted from him.   
The intruder barrier to his room wasn't any help;   
Washu was the one who'd designed it, after all.  
  
{Why me? What did I do to deserve this?}  
  
Here he was, living what most guys would consider a dream life,   
with beautiful women all around him. Beautiful willing women   
desperately in love with him, that would be all over him if   
he gave even the slightest indication that he had picked one.   
  
It was a nightmare!  
  
"Tenchi? Tenchi!"  
  
A familiar, kawaii voice broke through   
the despondent clouds that hung over   
his thoughts.  
  
"Huh? Sasami? What is it?"  
  
"Breakfast is over, silly!"  
  
Looking around, he realized that she was right.   
Everyone else had left the table and Sasami was   
just finishing picking up the last of the dishes  
on the table.  
  
"Where did everyone go?"  
  
"Well, Ayeka and Ryoko went outside fighting."  
  
"Again?!"  
  
Listening carefully, Tenchi could now hear the distant   
crashes and explosions that marked another one of their   
*differences of opinion*. He didn't even bother to ask   
what had started it this time; it was safer to just let   
those two blow off some steam.  
  
"Mihoshi and Kiyone got called to work, and Washu's in her lab.   
She said that she's got a physical waiting for you.   
What's a physical anyway, Tenchi?"  
  
"Uh... Why don't you let me help you with the dishes, Sasami!"  
  
"Oh, thanks!"  
  
Giving a small sigh of relief at having avoided the question   
(something he'd become quite good at since the space girls had started moving in),  
Tenchi reached over to get the last plate just as Sasami's hand went toward it.  
  
His callused hand closed over her small delicate one as she picked up the dish.  
  
"Oh."  
  
A small blush filled the princess's cheeks at this unexpected contact.  
  
For once, the boy voted by Anime fans "most likely to never get a clue"   
noticed this. Of course that didn't mean he knew what to do about it.  
  
Releasing her hand as if it was a red-hot ember, the Masaki boy   
made haste to transfer the rest of the dishes to the kitchen,   
before running out toward the carrot fields as fast as his legs   
could carry him.  
  
Behind him he left a confused and slightly embarrassed Sasami.  
  
"What was that all about?"  
  
[Sasami dear, we need to talk.]  
  
{Tsunami?}  
  
{Yes, Princess. It's me. I must ask a favor of you...}  
  
  
-To be continued  
  



End file.
